According to The Guardian Andy Murray who was receiving assistance during his second-round match at the 2013 Italian Open in Rome. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Andy Murray’s golden summer has ground to a halt and he will undergo minor surgery on a lingering back injury on Monday that could keep him out of tennis until the Australian Open in January.
The reigning Wimbledon champion still wants to play in the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in Greenwich in November but that is unlikely. He has already wiped out his Asian schedule and his medium-term aim is to recover from treatment to be in shape for his annual winter training block in Miami during December. If his recovery goes to plan, he hopes to be fully fit for Melbourne.
“Next week Andy is set to undergo minor back surgery in an effort to clear up a long-standing back problem,” a statement from Murray’s team said on Thursday. “He will definitely miss tournaments in Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai. The problem flared up during the Italian Open this year when Andy was forced to retire and he sought advice from a range of specialists. After recently playing on hard courts and clay Andy once again sought medical advice about solving the issue once and for all. The aim is to be fully fit for the new season.”
A Murray insider described his chances of playing in Greenwich as “touch and go”. Although the surgery will be “non-invasive”, according to a source, it would seem inadvisable to risk aggravating the injury. The Scot, who has been troubled with persistent back pain since the season-ending tournament final in 2011, decided in the past few days that stitch-and-mend treatment is proving detrimental, even though he has won the US Open and Wimbledon titles since.
That is not good
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No it isn’t and they are not giving anything away about what he is actually having done.
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Many of them end up crippled
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Oh gosh wouldn’t that be awful. I should think they will make sure he is seen by the best consultant for his type of surgery.:)
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That is tragic back problems are on going even after an op, we can only hope he can get all the treatment he needs.xx
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That’s exactly what I though a, it’s on the beginning I think but they are not saying what he’s having done yet.
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I hope the op works for Andy Im not surprised about his back playing up tennis is so physical these days contrary to what some people might think he is quite a modest young man not “dour” at all wish him luck and all folk who need ops on their back … strangely I had back troubles myself this week and found painkillers and heat pads helped really well nearly better now xx
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I agree with you lilian, I a lot of people get the wrong impression of him. I will be interested to see what type of surgery he has and who did it. Like you I’ve been using my heat pads this week. I take painkillers 24/7 as I am on slow release but the change of seasons triggered mine off a bit this week. Hope yours settles down soon.
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Tennis is tough on the body and Andy Murray is now beginning to realise you have to pay the piper at times. Nadal has had a lot of injuries in recent years too.
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I just hope my GS doesn’t get too many injuries in playing professional rugby league.
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Yes, I didn’t realise that Nadal had some back surgery – well look how well he has done this last few weeks, I should think that will make Andy feel better.
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